Battlestar Hyperion: War Games 57
by SamsterHam
Summary: Giving a back-story to the Battlestar Hyperion Universe, War Games 57 pits two fleets of Colonial Battlestars against each other a match to determine the strength of the upgrade to the Mercury line of Battlestars, both of whom are ready to defend the Colonies at a moment's notice...
1. War Game 57 The Battle

**A/N:** _Due to a partnership between the Battlestar_ Hyperion _Universe and FUBARInbound's Halcyon Over: Draconis' Story, I will be slow to update my main FanFiction, Battlestar_ Hyperion _. So for now, enjoy this two part story and Battlestar_ Hyperion _: The Hunt for Kobol, if you haven't already..._

 **Battlestar _Hyperion_ :**

 **War Games #57**

 _ **Colonial Flight School, Leonis:**_

 _ **09:00 AM, 4 Years, 129 days Before the Attack on the Colonies (BTA)**_

It was a sunny day on Leonis. Admiral John Jenkins, CO of Battlestar Group 53 and the Battlestar _Hyperion_ , stepped out of his transport shuttle alongside his XO, Colonel Matthew Virgon, and his CAG, Major Jenson 'Bellow' Hilton. The three men walked over the buzzing landing strip as other shuttles took off and landed all around them. Outside the door to the main building to the Leonis Flight School, Fleet Admiral Vince Walker, an older man with a receding hair-line, stood awaiting the crew representing the _Hyperion_. "Good morning Admiral Walker," John Jenkins, another tall, aging Admiral with neatly folded gray hair, said.

"Admiral Jenkins," Vince replied. "Thank you for participating in these war games. Admiral Redon of the Battlestar _Colombia_ has been sent on Aerilon to watch over the crop transfers. You remember what happened last harvest..." John nodded solemnly as they entered the building behind them.

"So what're the war games for today?" Matthew Virgon, another older man with short, thinning hair asked as they entered the control room of the flight school.

"Well, we need to test the Block-II Mercury-classes in a fleet scenario," Vince replied as he stepped around the command centre, which was similar to a CIC on a Jupiter-class Battlestar.

"Why do you need us then? Why not get two Block-IIs to..." Jenson Hilton, a tall and bald man, started.

"Major," Vince said calmly. "If you'd let me finish... We are pitting Battlestar Group 53 against Battlestar Group 62; which, as you may have heard, has replaced the Battlestar _Acropolis_ with the Battlestar _Minotaur_ , a Block-II Mercury-class. We have bolstered your Battlestar Group with the addition of the Battlestar _Valkyrie_ , commanded by Commander Adama. I gather that you already know Commander Adama, Admiral Jenkins," John nodded as Rear Admiral Helena Cain entered the room behind him.

"Admiral Walker, Admiral Jenkins," She said as she and Colonel Jorgen Belzen entered the command centre.

"Helena, I was wondering when you'd arrive," John said as the two Admirals shook hands.

"It's good to see you John," She told John. Helena Cain finished the handshake and stepped up to the command table. "So what's the mission?" She quickly asked Admiral Walker.

"Well," Vince replied. "As I just said, the Battlestar _Valkyrie_ will be joining us along with the Battlestar _Minotaur_ to test the Block-II Mercury-classes in a fleet scenario. The Battlestar _Hyperion_ and her fleet will make a synchronised FTL jump to Virgon, were it will meet with the Battlestar _Valkyrie_. Then, the Battlestar _Pegasus_ will lead her fleet into the Ouranos asteroid belt as Battlestar Group 53 does the same from Virgon instead of Leonis. You will both keep in contact until I cut the transmissions from here and that is when the war game will begin," Vince explained. John nodded to Matt as Vince had spoken and he checked over at Helena's reaction. She copied John's nod and they prepared to leave when Jorgen Belzen interrupted.

"And what kind of ammunition will we be using, and will this be a full assault with Vipers and Raptors?" Jorgen asked.

"You will be using standard test rounds, so you shouldn't do any damage to your ships, that being said, if one of your railguns gets a good shot off, you will probably make a dent in the other ship, but nothing a day or two in dry-dock can't fix," Vince told them. Jorgen nodded and followed Helena out of the command centre, in front of John and his crew. John smiled to Vince as they left the chamber and set off for their respective ships.

 _ **Battlestar**_ **Hyperion** _ **CIC, Low Leonis Orbit:**_

 _ **09:52 AM, 4 Years, 129 Days BTA**_

John entered the dark CIC of the Battlestar _Hyperion_ , after his shuttle had arrived back on the Battlestar. Lieutenant Amelia Jartell, a short, dark haired woman and Tactical Officer of the Battlestar _Hyperion_ , handed a report to Admiral Jenkins as he and Colonel Virgon entered the Combat Information Centre of the _Hyperion_. "Thank you Amelia," John thanked Amelia as she gave him the papers. "Mr Yo," John called to Petty Officer Hermes Yo, the dark skinned Communications Officer of the _Hyperion_. "Have you notified the crew of the impending war games at 12:00 hours this noon?"

"Sir, the senior crew have been notified but you'll need to inform the rest of BSG 53 yourself," Hermes replied. John nodded as he stepped up to the command console of the CIC. He went to pick up the phone when Hermes called over to him. "Sir, the Battlestar _Valkyrie_ is in range and is requesting to speak to you,"

"Confirm ID and push the reply onto my phone please, Mr Yo," John ordered. Hermes spoke to the Communications Officer on the _Valkyrie_. John held the phone up to his ear when Hermes indicated for him to do so.

"This is the Battlestar _Valkyrie_ to the Battlestar _Hyperion_. I authenticate Delta 4-1-1," The _Valkyrie_ replied. John switched on the microphone inside the bottom of the phone he was holding.

"This is _Hyperion_ Actual. I would like to speak with Commander Adama," John said. He waited for a minute while Commander Bill Adama got onto the phone.

"This is _Valkyrie_ Actual," Commander Adama said down the phone. "How are you doing John?"

"Not too bad now that you're here," John replied. "Did they outfit you with the correct ammunition Bill?" John asked.

"They did John, they did. So, do you have our objective?"

"I do. My crew is sending the brief over to you now, and if you open a channel with the rest of the Battlestar Group, I'm about to explain the mission to everyone," John told Bill. John held the phone away from his face for a moment to talk to Amelia. "Connect me with the other ships and get them to open up the line on speakers inside their ships," John whispered before putting the phone back to his mouth. He waited for a moment until Amelia gave him a thumbs-up. "This is your Admiral," He said to the fleet. "As you may be aware, we are about to participate in a War Games scenario against the Battlestar _Pegasus_ and Battlestar Group 62. We are going to be heading for the Ouranos Asteroid Belt in a moment's time and there we will begin the War Games. I will sound Condition One for when we arrive, but for now I will have contact with the _Pegasus_ so that we meet in the correct location. I have transmitted the run-down the war games to your COs and XOs, so they will be able to answer them if you speak to them. Thank you, and gods speed,"

 _ **Battlestar**_ **Hyperion** _ **CIC, Ouranos Asteroid Belt:**_

 _ **11:59 AM, 4 Years, 129 Days BTA**_

"...of course Helena... Yes... thank you," John put the phone down one minute before it was scheduled to cut out. He Looked over at the clock, which still read 11:59. He nodded to Matt and saw nine red DRADIS contacts blip onto the screen.

"Sir, nine contacts inbound!" Amelia called from her desk.

"Set Condition One throughout the fleet and set all batteries to auto-fire mode. Helmsman, bring the _Hyperion_ ahead at flank speed and tell the _Themis_ to cover the other ships," John ordered. The crew set about to their jobs as the alarms started blazing. "Get Vipers and Raptors on station and get them to target the _Minotaur_ ,"

Captain Samuel 'Spinner' Halway, commander of Red Squadron, was fired out of the _Hyperion_ 's launch tube and turned towards the enemy in the asteroids. "All Vipers, Bellow: You have weapons free. Load missiles and prepare to engage the Battlestar _Minotaur_ ,"

"Tally Bellow. Red Squadron, on me!" Spinner called to the pilots behind him in Red Squadron. He blasted towards the other Battlestars as the _Hyperion_ 's front cannons began to fire into the asteroids.

"Spinner, Twinkle-toe:" Lieutenant Don 'Twinkle-toe' Cook called. "Enemy Vipers inbound on our position!"

"Red Squadron, Spinner: You have weapons free, engage at your discretion,"

"...engage at your discretion," John heard Spinner say from inside the CIC.

"The _Deadalus_ and the _Icarus_ are requesting orders, sir," Hermes Yo told John and Matt.

"Get them in cover formation of the _Hyperion_. And set our guns onto the Battlestar _Pegasus_ ," Matt said while John watched the DRADIS screen above them.

"Aye Colonel," Amelia replied. "All guns target bearing..."

"Mr Yo, give me an ETA on entering the enemy's range," John asked Hermes.

"About ten seconds sir," Hermes replied. "The _Pegasus_ is in range,"

"Order the _Eos_ and the _Theia_ to engage the _Pegasus_ with the _Cyrannus_ ," John ordered.

"Aye sir," Hermes replied. Matt walked away from the command table and stood over the shoulders of the helm officers. John watched the DRADIS as his ships moved into position.

"XO, call the _Limpet_ and order them to launch Vipers," John shouted to Matt over the Condition One alarms.

"Roger Admiral," Matt said has walked back to the command table and picked up a phone as the first rounds from the Battlestar _Pegasus_ came in. " _Limpet_ , this is the _Hyperion_. Launch Vipers and prepare to attack the Battlestar _Basilisk_ ," Matt ordered.

Spinner dodged past the first wave of incoming Vipers and slipped through the squadron of Raptors behind them. "Red Squadron, hold formation," Spinner said as one of his Vipers was 'destroyed', meaning the EMPKEWs had shut down all ssystems except for life support and DRADIS so that the pilots could continue to learn from the battle around them.

"Spinner, Hoedown: I've got one on my six, I can't..." One of the Vipers said as he was shut down by the enemy Vipers.

"Frak! Red Squadron hold on. We're going in!" Spinner told his pilots.

"All players, _Hyperion_ : We need you back over the _Hyperion_ to intercept enemy missiles at bearing 31 Carom 35," Hermes told the pilots down the wireless. Spinner looked over his shoulder at the approaching missiles and saw three diving towards the _Hyperion_. He spun around and blasted back towards the Battlestar and opened fire on the first missile he could.

"Bellow, Spinner: You've got a Viper on your six," Spinner said as Bellow flew over his head. Spinner pulled up and fired towards the enemy Viper when he saw a missile dive towards the _Hyperion_ just inches from his cockpit.

"Spinner, Bellow: I've got this guy, you deal with that missile!" Spinner broke away and dived towards the _Hyperion_ and fired wildly at the missile, taking it out.

"Spinner, Hera:" Lieutenant Harriet 'Hera' Gemini said to Spinner. "There's a Viper on Bellow,"

"Tally Hera. Get on my six and we'll..." Spinner stopped when he saw Bellow's Viper shut down by the Viper behind it. "Bellow is down! I repeat Bellow is down!" Spinner cried as he dived past the stationary Viper.

"...Bellow is down!" John gasped when he heard Spinner's report come in over the wireless.

"Get me Spinner," John shouted to Hermes. Hermes nodded and pointed to the phone in the command table. John grabbed it and held it to his face. "This is _Hyperion_ Actual, report Spinner," John told Spinner.

"We just lost Bellow sir," Spinner replied over the wireless.

"Sam," John said calmly. "I need you to fill in as CAG," John waited for a reply for moment while Spinner processed the information.

"Copy _Hyperion_ ," Sam said slowly before he cut the connection to John's phone. John put the phone back in the table and looked back to the DRADIS screen.

"Point us towards bearing 341 Carom 8 and fire main guns; then bring the _Valkyrie_ around and do the same," John ordered.

"And get the Battle Raptors to take off and get the rest of our birds in the air," Matt ordered. Amelia and Hermes busily tapped on their keyboards and ran around the CIC giving orders to the squadrons of Vipers and Raptors as well as the other ships that were requesting orders. John continued to watch the DRADIS screen as both the Battlestars _Minotaur_ and _Gladius_ , a Sobek-class, got into range. The CIC shook with the simulated blast from the enemy as they fired everything they had.

"Ms Jartell, order batteries Charlie to Golf to target the _Berserk_ on her next run," John ordered as the _Berserk_ carrier sped through the middle of John's Battlestars, doing major damage to both the _Eos_ and the _Theia_.

"Admiral, the _Limpet_ has weapons lock on the _Berserk_ , do they have permission to chase," Amelia asked John.

"They do. Get the Defender _Cyrannus_ to chase as well. Let's take that ship out," John replied.

Sam watched as the _Berserk_ came around for another pass on the Battlestar _Themis_. "Anyone who can, we need to stop the _Berserk_ on her next run," Sam ordered.

"Tally Spinner, I'm on you," Came the reply from Captain James 'Road' Rhodesian, leader of Green Squadron. Sam led the Vipers and Raptors towards the carrier as it flew full speed towards the _Themis_. Sam checked his DRADIS as both the _Limpet_ and the Defender _Cyrannus_ flew over his head, firing everything they had onto the _Berserk_. The carrier was taken down as it approached the _Themis_ and forced the Battlestar to brake from combat and dove out of the way of the incoming carrier, who's forward engines had not slowed the ship down yet. Sam and the Vipers pulled up as the _Berserk_ fell through space in front of them. They flew along the top of the hull and shot over the top of the engines as the ship drifted to a halt right in the middle of the Battlestar Group led by the _Hyperion_. It was then when Sam saw the enemy Battlestars flying at flank speed towards BSG 53 with most of their guns targeted on the still relatively confused Battlestar _Themis_.

"Sir," Amelia shouted to John. "The _Themis_ is taking hevy fire and the _Icarus_ is on its way to assist," John shook his head.

"Tell them to cover the _Themis_ while everything else moves on the enemy fleet. Get in close and use our flak cannons on them," John ordered. "Have the _Eos_ and _Theia_ stay behind us and the _Valkyrie_ until we get in close enough and get the _Cyannus_ and _Limpet_ to do the same,"

"Aye sir," Amelia replied. John and Matt checked the DRADIS as the capital ships flew themselves into position.

Sam watched as the _Hyperion_ led its ships into formations and slowly blasted towards the enemy Battlestars. "All wings on me. We're going to give the _Hyperion_ support as she goes in," Sam ordered as he turned towards the _Hyperion_ and matched its speed as he sat in between the alligator nose and the engine pods.

"Spinner, Twinkle-toe: The last Raptors have taken off. Should we move to cover them," Don Cook asked.

"Twinkle-toe, Spinner: Take Blue Squadron down and give Orange Squadron cover. All other birds, stay on my six until we reach the enemy," Twinkle-toe led Blue Squadron away from the _Hyperion_ as the Battlestar flew at full speed towards the asteroid that the _Minotaur_ was hiding behind.

"Forwards batteries open fire!" John ordered as they approached the asteroids. The _Hyperion_ 's guns ripped through the asteroid and revealed the Battlestar _Minotaur_ awaiting to attack.

"They've fired missiles sir!" Amelia shouted to John as the _Minotaur_ opened fire on the _Hyperion_ and her escorts.

"Deploy flak and prepare for impact," John told Amelia as one of the missiles hit, shaking the whole ship. John was knocked onto the command desk.

"Brake, brake, brake!" Sam said as the _Minotaur_ 's missile dived towards the _Hyperion_. The Vipers all rolled away from the ship and dived down between the flight pods and fired everything they had at the Orion-class Gunstar, the Gunstar _Azure Storm_. The ship was bounced around by the blasts until it was sent adrift by the _Hyperion_ 's Vipers. " _Hyperion_ , Spinner: The _Azure Storm_ is down. I repeat, the _Azure Storm_ is down," Sam said joyfully as his fighters zipped around the drifting Gunstar.

"Copy Spinner. Set next target to Viper squadron at bearing 51 Carom 26," Hermes replied from the _Hyperion_ 's CIC. Sam cut his microphone and pulled up towards a squadron of enemy Vipers heading straight for them. Sam looked around him at the Viper's circling over his head.

"All CAGs, call in," He asked the Vipers.

"This is _Themis_ , Film here,"

"This is _Eos_ , Jockey here,"

"This is _Theia_ , Hull here,"

"This is _Valkyrie_ , Bulldog here,"

"This is _Limpet_ , Sirloin here,"

"And this is _Hyperion_ , Spinner here. Everyone, you have weapons free and Bulldog and Sirloin, I need you to cover the Raptors heading for the Battlestar _Basilisk_ ," Sam ordered as the Vipers from the _Valkyrie_ and the _Limpet_ broke away from the Vipers which were nearly in range of the enemy ships heading straight for them.

"Vipers are in range sir," Amelia reported to John and Matt.

"Get our Vipers out of there and see if the enemy will chase. We outnumber them and they'll be easier to get from behind," Matt ordered Hermes, who quickly called to the Vipers who were about to engage.

"What's the _Cyrannus_ doing?" John asked Amelia as he watched the _Cyrannus_ brake formation and separate with the _Limpet_ on its tail.

"Sir!" Amelia shouted. "Enemy Defender and Guardian-class inbound. They're flanking!"

"Keep pushing forward Amelia. Have the _Valkyrie_ cover our rears. We need to get in the middle of them," John told her. John gritted his teeth and looked back to the DRADIS screen as the two Colonial ships fired onto the _Limpet_ and took it out,"

"We've lost the _Limpet_ ," Matt commented. John closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"Get any Raptors away from the fight to take out those two ships. Use any Firestars you need," John said glumly. Matt nodded and picked up a phone. "Mr Yo, get me Commander Adama. I need a word with him," Hermes nodded and connected John to the Battlestar _Valkyrie_. John picked up the phone when Hermes indicated to him and spoke into it. "This is _Hyperion_ Actual. I need to speak with Commander Adama," John waited for a moment while Bill Adama picked up a phone.

"This is _Valkyrie_ Actual," John heard Bill say dwn the other end of the phone.

"Bill, how many attack protocols are you familiar with?" John asked.

"Most of them. I doubt you could confuse me on this," Bill replied.

"Good. I need you to implement manoeuvre 16,"

"You want us to do a swing over the _Hyperion_?" Bill asked John.

"Yes, then I need you to cut underneath the _Minotaur_ and swing towards the _Pegasus_ and take her out while the _Themis_ backs you up," John told Bill. Bill was silent for a moment while he considered the order.

"Copy John. I set to it..." Bill put the phone down and John did the same before watching the _Valkyrie_ move on DRADIS.

Sam watched the _Valkyrie_ as it pulled up and swung over the top of the _Hyperion_ and dive over the otherside. Sam quickly shot down what appeared to be a nugget pilot, before watching the _Valkyrie_ 's Vipers and Raptors blast past and push into the enemy line. " _Hyperion_ Vipers, let these guys go and lets cover the _Valkyrie_ 's birds," Sam ordered as he broke away from the enemy Vipers. He flew after the _Valkyrie_ 's Vipers when the _Pegasus_ suddenly jumped away from the battle. Sam's eyes darted around, trying to find the _Pegasus_ when it jumped a couple of hundred feet in front of him. "All birds, brake up now!" Sam cried as he swung away from the _Pegasus_.

"What the frak!?" John and Matt shouted simultaneously.

"Sirs, the _Pegasus_ just..." Amelia started to say before she was cut off by Matt.

"We know!" Matt shouted.

"Have they full surrounded us?" John asked Amelia quickly.

"Yes sir, but the _Valkyrie_ is still on her swing around," Amelia replied.

"Admiral, the _Valkyrie_ is asking for orders," Hermes called from behind John as the CIC quickly became even more chaotic.

"Tell them to continue the order. Same for us, let the _Themis_ deal with..." John tried to say when Amelia butted in.

"They've taken out the _Themis_ sir!" She called. John scrunched up his hands before looking back at DRADIS.

"This is a mock nuclear mission order," John said quietly.

"John...?" Matt asked softly.

"This is a mock nuclear mission order. Lieutenant Jartell, if you agree please place your key..." John said, louder this time.

"If we launch a mock nuke on the _Pegasus_ sir..." Amelia started.

"Not on the _Pegasus_ , on the _Minotaur_ ," John told her. Amelia thought for a moment before grabbing her key and standing up. Matt nodded to John and took out his key as well. John led the three over to the weapons control section were they approached a young Ensign who quickly stood out of the way. They put their keys into the weapons panel and the Ensign sat down and turned all three. The Ensign looked up at John who nodded to him before returning to the command table.

"All players, _Hyperion_ : Get clear of the _Minotaur_ and direct all fire onto the Battlestar _Pegasus_ ," Hermes ordered the pilots as the _Valkyrie_ appeared from behind the _Hyperion_ and fired everything it had onto the _Pegasus_ , taking out the ship's engines. Sam looped around the _Hyperion_ when the missile tube doors opened and nearly hit Sam in the process. His eyes widened before he blasted as far away from the _Hyperion_ as he could before two mock nukes shot out of the Battlestar. Sam looked over his shoulder as they dived towards the Battlestar _Minotaur_ and impacted directly into its middle section, completely shutting down the ship before it had chance to fire any flak at the missiles. Sam's attention quickly returned to a _Pegasus_ who had almost completely been taken out.

" _Hyperion_ , Spinner: _Minotaur_ is down and the _Pegasus_ will be soon," Sam reported. He pulled over the _Pegasus_ as her main lights flickered off and he fired his missiles onto the Battlestar _Basilisk_ that stood beneath it. He pulled around that Battlestar a moment later as the entirety of BSG 53 fired onto the last enemy ships, the Defender _Zeus_ and the Sobek-class Battlestar _Gladius_ who had been steadily pumping out Vipers since the start of the war game. The EMPKEWs of every ship popped all over the hull of the ships and moments later their weapons were locked by command on Leonis.

"Congratulations Battlestar Group 53, you have won War Games Scenario 59. Please return to Leonis immediately for debriefing," The automated message from Leonis read. John looked around at his crew and smiled.

"So say we all!" He shouted. John repeated it again and Matt joined in. Then Amelia and Hermes joined in and quickly the entire CIC was chanting the same thing. "So say we all!"


	2. War Game 57 The Debriefing

_**Raptor 279, En Route to Leonis Flight School:**_

 _ **14:54PM, 4 Years, 129 Days BTA**_

John's Raptor skimmed through the clouds of Leonis as they flew towards the flight school for their de-briefing. In the pilot's seat was Lieutenant Karl 'Crow' Stonechat, a young pilot who had recently been assigned to the _Hyperion_. John peeked out of the window as two Viper MkVIs in training liveries flew alongside them. Sat next to John were Major Hilton and Captain Halway, both of which held a piece of paper in their hand, Sam with a report and Bellow with (unknown to John) his resignation. The Raptor glided over the runways of the flight school and slowed itself down over the main Raptor pads. John prepared himself as the doors opened and a greeting party led by Admiral Walker approached their Raptor. John stepped out and smoothed his uniform instinctively as the Admiral approached. "Welcome Admiral Jenkins," Vince said to John, a disappointed look on his face.

"Admiral Walker..." John said slowly. "Is something wrong?" Vince stopped walking and turned back to face John.

"I just thought that one of our best Admirals wouldn't resort to nuclear weapons like that..." Vince turned his back on John as he spoke and led them towards the flight school. John looked around at the training pilots as a second Raptor glided down behind them. Vince stopped walking and turned around as Admiral Cain and Lieutenant Colonel Fisk climbed out of the Raptor. Helena stormed over to John as Vince started leading them both towards the command centre of the school.

"Nukes? Really John?!" Helena barked at John.

"I took advantage of a..." John tried to say before Vince cut off the two Admirals.

"Can we please save this for inside?" Vince told them. John and Helena nodded and followed Admiral Walker inside the building in front of them.

"...now although I do agree with Admiral Cain, you technically violate any rules Admiral Jenkins. Even so, the Admiralty has put you onto watch, as we can't let this go lightly," Vince said as they stood inside the CIC of the flight school. John shook his head as Admiral Walker spoke.

"Why in the gods' names would the Admiralty be watching me if I didn't do anything wrong?" John asked Vince.

"This was not specified in the mission objectives, but you should know that use of nuclear weapons against Colonial units, even in war games, is banned," Vince replied.

"No, Admiral Walker, they are not. Against Colonial or former Colonial units they are, but this is a war games. You ordered me to test the Block-II to its limits and I did so. The Cylons do not shy away from using such weapons and I don't think I should have either," John told Vince and Helena sternly. "Not to mention I was taught that if I was going to go down, I should go down fighting. At least that was Admiral Harman's philosophy..."

"This is not the Cylon war John, those lessons are irrelevant," Helena quickly countered.

"Look, if you had been Cylon units, you'd both be congratulating me now. So what is the difference in a war games scenario?"

"Admiral Jenkins, the scenario involved two Colonial..." Vince started.

"Technically yes, but in this case I must inform you that I officially didn't know who or what I was fighting. When fighting an un-identified opponent, you discover who or what they are before treating them like Cylons if you still don't recognise them," John took the report of the battle from Sam and placed it on the table in front of Vince. "Is there anything else Admiral?" He asked.

"Yes Admiral Jenkins. You need to move your fleet back to Picon and prepare transport to the Battlestar _Atlantia_. Admiral Nagala would like a word with you. Also, I need you to escort the Battlestar _Hercules_ and Battlestar Group 72 there as well. Admiral Cain, you need to head for Ragnar to rearm the anchorage there with ammunition from Scorpia. Dismissed, both of you," Vince said before replying to John and Helena's salutes.

John, Sam and Jenson exited the command centre and headed for their shuttle when Jenson stopped them. "Sir," Jenson said opening his hand and showing the paper in it. "Due to my performance during the last war games, I believe that you would do better without my service aboard the _Hyperion_ ," Jenson said solemnly. John looked over to Jenson in surprise.

"I'm sorry Major, what is it that you are suggesting?" John asked.

"This is my resignation sir. I think that I would do better work here at the flight school. I have appointed Major Cutrani to take my place as CAG," Jenson told John and Sam. John took the letter and quickly gave it to Sam to scan over. After a moment or two, Sam handed the letter back to John and nodded. John took the letter again and saluted to Jenson.

"Very well Major. I'll leave a Raptor here in case you change your mind in the next few hours. The flight school will be lucky to have you Jenson," John told Jenson, who quickly snapped into a salute as well. Jenson nodded and turned away from John and Sam as he headed back into the command centre to speak to Admiral Walker. John and Sam turned back towards the exit and continued walking back twards the Raptor that would take them to the _Hyperion_.

 _ **Battlestar**_ **Hyperion** _ **CIC, Leonis Orbit:**_

 _ **15:42PM, 4 Years, 129 Days BTA**_

John stood inside the CIC of the _Hyperion_ as they waited for the _Hercules_ and the Gunstars _Iridium_ , _Sparta, Peleus_ and _Ricochet_. The spinning doors of the CIC opened and Major Fran 'Pat' Cutrani, a tall and dark skinned man of Sagittaron descent, entered the CIC. "Ah, Major Cutrani," John said as Fran entered the room and saluted for the Admiral. "I trust you know why you've been called here,"

"I do Admiral. Captain Halway informed me a while ago," Fran told John. John nodded and led Fran towards Amelia's desk at the side of the CIC. John nodded to Amelia who took a small jewellery box out from her bag. John took the box and opened it for Fran, who gazed at the medal inside it. Fran slid his hand under the box and took it from John. John smiled as Fran looked down at the gold badge sitting inside the box. Fran closed the box and snapped into a salute for John, who swiftly returned the salute. "Thank you sir," Fran said as he lowered his hand and turned to leave.

"You're welcome Major. I'll need you to address the crew in a moment before we escort the _Hercules_ and her ships back to Picon," John told Fran, who nodded to john before exiting the CIC. John smiled and shook his head as Fran left.

The Admiral looked up at the DRADIS screen as a fleet of Colonial contacts entered DRADIS range.

"Sir, the _Hercules_ is in range and I think Admiral Markos wants to speak with you," Amelia told John as she noticed the _Hercules_. John nodded as he reached down for a phone while Hermes called to the other Battlestar.

" _Hercules_ , this is the Battlestar _Hyperion_. Admiral Jenkins would like to speak with Admiral Markos," Hermes told the communications officer aboard the _Hercules_. John held the phone to his ear as Rear Admiral Adrian Markos aboard the _Hercules_ , another Block-II Mercury-class.

"This is _Hercules_ Actual," John heard Admiral Markos say.

" _Hercules_ Actual, this is _Hyperion_ Actual; its' good to hear from you Admiral Markos. I trust your new XO is behaving himself?" John asked.

"Yes, Colonel Moore is doing just fine, thank you Admiral. Are you ready for our departure to Picon?"

"Roger that Adrian. Our engines are powered up and our Vipers have received their orders," John told Admiral Markos.

"Before we leave though, me and my crew would like to congratulate you on your victory in your war game this afternoon,"

"Thank you," John said gratefully. "It's good to see someone who isn't concerned about my tactics," John heard Adrian chuckle down the line.

"Don't worry John, I'm not going to bite your head off, as I assume Admiral Cain did," John smiled and nodded at Admiral Markos' last comment.

"Thank you Adrian," John said as he out down the phone. He turned to Amelia. "Power up the engines and set course for Picon," He ordered. Amelia nodded.

"Roger sir. Ensign Gray, all power to sub-light thrusters," Amelia called to the helmsman of the _Hyperion_. John nodded to a weary looking Matt, who had been quietly standing on the other side of the command table while he spoke to Admiral Markos. Matt saluted and headed out of the doors and towards his quarters after the long day.

 _ **Battlestar**_ **Hyperion** _ **, In Transit with BSG-53 and BSG-72:**_

 _ **17:18PM, 4 Years, 129 Days BTA**_

John walked through the corridors of the _Hyperion_ towards his quarters when Amelia's voice called out to him over the intercom. "Could Admiral Jenkins please report to CIC immediately," She called. John jogged over to an intercom that sat on the wall a few yards in front of him. John picked up the phone and placed it next to his face.

"This is Admiral Jenkins," He said into the intercom.

"We have a situation in CIC. It's a message from Sagittaron," Amelia told John. John nodded and slammed the phone back into its berth before spinning around and walking as fast as he could back to the CIC of the _Hyperion_ , dodging past the oblivious crew members next to him.

John burst through the doors of the CIC and stood at the command table as Matt entered from the other side of the room. "Report," Matt as he entered.

"This is a priority message for Battlestar Group 53. Terrorists under the command of Tom Zarek have just blown up a government building in the middle of the capital city. They have now captured experimental CNP networked computers and taken command of Battlestar Group 37 on board the Battlestar _Submerse_. I repeat..." John slowly shook his head as he listened to the report come in.

"Ms Jartell," He said slowly. "Set Condition One throughout the fleet and get me _Hercules_ Actual immediately," Amelia nodded and Hermes scrambled to the comms.

Sam and Don 'Twinkle-toe' Cook were walking casually down the corridors towards their barracks, ready to get some rack-time, when the Condition One alarms suddenly started blazing. The two pilots looked around as Amelia gave a quick run-down of the situation. "Rebellion on Sagittaron? Frak!" Sam cursed as they broke into a run towards their barracks. They quickly opened the door and grabbed their helmets from their lockers.

"C'mon Sam, our Vipers are on alert, we need to get down here now!" Don said as he zipped up his flight-suit and picked up his helmet.

"Coming," Sam called as Don started to run out of the barracks, grabbing his helmet on his way out. The two pilots joined the line of crewman running down towards the hangar decks.

John reached down and grabbed hold of the phone and quickly raised it up. "This is _Hyperion_ Actual," He said in a slightly stressed tone.

"What is it John?" Admiral Markos asked John from the CIC of the _Hercules_.

"We've had some kind of rebellion on Sagittaron. It sounds like they've got Battlestars in orbit and are rearing for a fight," John told Adrian Markos. "We're spinning up our FTL drives and I'd like your ships to tag along,"

"Of course we will John. We'll spin up our FTLs and meet you there," Adrian said. John nodded to himself and put down the phone before turning to Amelia.

"Jump when ready Lieutenant. And Matt, I need you to get every single bird in the air by the time the _Hercules_ arrives," John quickly ordered.

"Yes sir. This is the XO, all aircraft..." Matt picked up the intercom while John spoke and held it to his lips as he started talking. After Matt had finished his orders, Amelia dived onto the intercom.

"All hands prepare to jump in 5... 4... 3... 2... 1... jump,"


	3. Zarek's Choice

_**Battlestar**_ **Hyperion** _ **CIC, Sagittaron Orbit:**_

 _ **17:21PM, 4 Years, 129 Days BTA**_

"Report!" Matt shouted at Amelia as the _Hyperion_ dropped out of FTL in orbit of the colony of Sagittaron.

"I'm reading six capital sized signatures sir: One Columbia-class, three Odin-classes and one Sobek-class. A few more support ships as well sir," Amelia told them. John took a deep breath as he checked the DRADIS screen over his head. Ten red signatures sat around the _Hyperion_ as both the _Eos_ and the _Theia_ jumped in next to them.

"Amelia, launch the alert Vipers and..." John started to say before Amelia jumped in.

"All Vipers are still being re-armed from the war games sir. We have two squadrons nearly ready, but they'll need a minute or two to get themselves into the launch tubes," She said. John balled his hand into a fist and punched it into the table below him.

"Then get me a line to that Columbia-class. I'd like to speak to whoever's idea this all was," John said slowly. Hermes nodded behind him and tapped away at his panel.

"Attention unknown vessel, this is the Battlestar _Hyperion_. Identify yourself immediately or we will be forced to fire upon you," Hermes called firmly on all channels and as he spoke, John made his way towards Amelia and stood over her shoulder.

"As soon as any Viper or Raptor is ready I want them on the launch pad. We don't have time to fire them out of the launch tubes okay?" John whispered to Amelia as Hermes spoke. Amelia nodded and picked up the phone on her desk as John headed back to the command table. "Is the _Hercules_ here yet?" John asked Matt as he stood behind the table and watched Hermes talk to the Sagittarian Battlestars.

"Still waiting on 72, but 53 is fully accounted for sir," Matt reported to John as the Admiral's eyes switched back to the DRADIS screens.

"Good," John replied before turning to Hermes. "Mr Yo, push the reply onto the speakers,"

"Attention Battlestar _Hyperion_ , this is Tom Zarek aboard the Battlestar _Submerse_. I understand that my ships may look rather underwhelming to the heavily spit-polished fleet your used to, but be warned: my men will not stand down easily. The oppression of the government on Caprica..." The voice of rebel leader, Tom Zarek, cut through the ship, causing everyone in the CIC to stop what they were doing and gather in a mutual show of hatred.

"Get me that rat!" John ordered Hermes as Tom Zarek started his full, 'freedom fighting' speech. Hermes nodded and quickly hailed the _Submerse_. Hermes kept his head down as he spoke to the Sagittarians and gave John a thumbs-up when he was ready. John grabbed the phone and held it upside down against his lips, the conversation now broadcast around the entire ship. "Mr Zarek," John said calmly, interrupting Zarek half-way through his lecture.

"Ah, the beast speaks," Zarek gloated after John came onto the line.

"I am Admiral Jenkins of the Battlestar _Hyperion_ and the Twelve Colonies of Kobol; and I demand that you surrender or we will gladly use lethal force," John said, gritting his teeth as he did so. He heard Zarek chuckle down the line for a moment before replying.

"Admiral, I'm afraid you may be disappointed. We aren't your usual rebels or troublemakers, we are the peoples' will. We will regain control of our own colony and we'll start by destroying your fleet and showing our ways to the rest of the people in the colonies," Zarek replied.

"Firstly, that was just a standard warning that I am legally obligated to give and secondly, I want you to understand that I would willingly see you brought into the ground if it wasn't for the fact that I've already spent one of my nuclear warheads earlier today... but I suppose I can still use another of my ten others!" John countered. As John finished, he heard a couple of voices repeat 'So say we all' around the CIC.

"Admiral... Jenkins wasn't it? I'd like to offer you a similar arrangement in which you surrender and help me to free all the other Colonies from the oppressive grip of the Caprican and Gemenese elitists,"

"I don't see why I should. So far I've done nother but serve at the pleasure of both the King of Virgon and the President of the Colonies, and neither have shown the slightest contempt at anything I've done. Mr Zarek, I ask you again: Surrender now before Battlestar Group 72 arrives and..." John stopped speaking and cut the line as the _Hercules_ and her support ships jumped into range of the enemy ships. Ms Jartell, all stations and ships have weapons free, we're done here," John ordered as the CIC returned to chaos.

 _ **Viper 1219 'Spinner':**_

Sam lifted his Viper off of the surface of the _Hyperion_ 's flight pod as he had finally been fitted with the correct ammunition. He blasted out of the hangar and formed up behind Major 'Pat' Cutrani and prepared for the incoming fighters. "All Vipers, Pat: Enemy ships are launching all sorts of ships, so be careful when near our Vipers. They'll probably have MkVIIs," Pat told them.

"Copy Pat. Forming on you," Sam told Pat as they sped away from the _Hyperion_ and the other Battlestars as their cannons turned forwards and started firing in salvos towards the stolen Battlestars. Sam squinted into the inky black in front of him when a wave of Colonial ammunition zipped past his cockpit and impacted on a Raptor behind him. "Vipers, Spinner: Enemies in range!" Sam and the rest of the Vipers broke away from formation as the enemy ships, composed of every Viper Mark from I to VII as well as Stealthstars and original Cylon Raiders.

"Pat, Bootstrap: Are those Raiders?" One of the Viper pilots asked as a squadron of the classic Raiders flew past them.

"Bootstrap, Pat: I don't know, I don't have a visual. Spinner and Hera, can you see anything?" Pat asked Sam and Harriet as another old Viper squadron flew over their heads. Sam saw two of the Raiders brake away from their squadron and he pulled away from the fight to intercept.

"Pat, Spinner: I've got two of them heading for the _Hercules_. Preparing to intercept," Sam said as he pulled away from the mess of Vipers, both Colonial and Sagittarian. The two Raiders swung beneath the Titan III-class Gunstar (a small carrier who's armour mirrored that of a Mercury-class), the Gunstar _Iridium_. Sam opened his weapons and struck down one of the Raiders as it prepared to break towards the _Hyperion_.

 _ **Battlestar**_ **Hyperion** _ **CIC:**_

John watched the DRADIS screens as Sam and his Raiders changed their course towards the _Hyperion_. "Flak focus on that Raider. I don't trust these readings," John ordered as the two signals approached the _Hyperion_.

"Sir, I'm getting a two new signals," Amelia called to John and Matt from her desk.

"What are they?" John asked hurriedly.

"It can't be... Sir, I think one is a captured Cylon Basestar!" Amelia said in shock. John looked at the screen as the other contact disappeared off of the screen altogether.

"Get a Raptor over there now!" John shouted as he searched around the screen for clues. "What the frak..."

 _ **Battlestar**_ **Hercules** _ **CIC:**_

Colonel Jeffrey Moore, the 41 year old XO of the Battlestar _Hercules_ stood across the CIC from Adrian Markos as their Vipers began to engage the enemy units. He quietly listened to the reports from the Viper pilots as they encountered their enemy outside the ship. He looked over at the new tactical officer of the _Hercules_ , Lieutenant Bill Jenkins (Admiral Jenkins' nephew), who was currently organising the firing solutions of the port cannons. "Lieutenant, target priority at bearing 269 Carom 19," Bill Jenkins nodded to Jeffrey and quickly gave the order to the port gun crews.

"Good call Jeff," Adrian said, his eyes not straying from the DRADIS screens as one of the enemy Odin-classes started to pull to a further range. "Now finish them," Jeff looked at Adrian in confusion for a moment before picking up a phone and calling the _Hyperion_.

"Yes?" Jeff heard Matt aboard the _Hyperion_ ask.

"I need to speak to John. Now!" Jeff told Matt. He waited for a second while the call was transferred to the Admiral.

"This is Actual," John said down the line.

"We have Battlestar 3 on the ropes, permission to finish them sir?" Jeff asked John as a blast rocked the _Hercules_.

"Hold on that," John told Jeff as he put down the phone and left Jeff hanging. Jeff stuck the phone back into its holster and checked the DRADIS and saw the signature of what looked like a ship supposedly destroyed the previous year, the Battlestar _Helios_ , prototype to the cancelled Arvak-class of Battlestars. Jeff stared at the screen in confusion for a moment while his brain processed the information until his thoughts were interrupted by Bill calling from the other side of the CIC.

"Admiral! Inbound missile!" Bill shouted to Adrian, who was just as confused as everyone else in the CIC.

"What kind?" Adrian asked Bill quickly.

"Nuclear I think. Their MEDOUSA package must have blocked our sensors. Estimate ten seconds to impact," Bill said as calmly as ever.

"What?!" Cried Jeff and Adrian at the same time.

"All hands, brace for impact," Bill said into the headset he had just connected to the intercom of the ship. Jeff and Adrian quickly threw themselves down onto the command table into the cover position as the nuke struck the ship just a hundred metres away from the CIC. The explosion ripped through the ship and sent Jeff flying onto the floor of the CIC and threw him out of the way of a beam from the ceiling, which came crashing down onto one of the DRADIS screens and straight onto Admiral Markos. Sparks spat out of almost all of the computers as Jeff tried to stand up moments later. He grabbed hold of the command table and pulled himself up next to Adrian.

"Adrian are you... Sir? Admiral?!" Jeff reached over to Adrian and touched his head. Jeff pulled his hand away when he realised the beam had knocked both the screen and itself onto the Admiral's head and knocked him unconscious, blood flowing all over the table. The CIC crew looked over at Jeff as they slowly realised what had happened. Jeff wiped his hands on his trousers and turned to Bill. "Inform the Commanding Officers of the _Iridium_ , _Sparta_ , _Peleus_ and _Ricochet_ that..." Jeff started to say before Bill cut in.

"Actually sir. A second nuke hit the _Ricochet_ and we've now lost Commander Grassier and the ship," Bill informed Jeff. Jeff held his hands to his face as he checked the DRADIS screen and collected his thoughts.

"Right..." He said slowly. "Tell Admiral Jenkins that I'm in command now and prepare for an immediate FTL behind the _Submerse_ ," Bill nodded to Jeff as he gave his orders and Jeff prepared to contact John on the _Hyperion_.

 _ **Viper 1219 'Spinner':**_

Sam covered his eyes as the nuke hit the _Hercules_. After destroying his Raider, he had turned back towards the main battle when the _Helios_ jumped in right behind him and now had been sent spinning by the nuke. "Frak me..." He whispered to himself as he saw the _Hercules_ still fighting even after the black that would have destroyed most Colonial vessels outright. Sam spun his Viper around as the engines of the _Hercules_ lit up and the ship blasted in between Sam's Viper and the other ships of BSG-72. Sam pulled away from the fight and prepared to engage the enemy Vipers when the _Hercules_ and the three other Gunstars of BSG-72 jumped out of sight. Sam sighed as he saw the _Hyperion_ slow its advance and begin to fire large amounts of flak towards the incoming rounds from the Sagittarian Battlestars. " _Hyperion_ , Spinner: The _Hercules_ has left. I repeat, the _Hercules_ has retreated," Sam told the _Hyperion_ as the _Hercules_ jumped away.

"Negative Spinner," Hermes replied swiftly. "I'm reading it directly ahead," Sam heard Hermes' report and turned his Viper to face directly ahead. There he saw the three Sagittarian Battlestars and Gunstars sitting in orbit of their homeworld while the _Hercules_ and her three Gunstars prepared t open fire on their attackers. Sam smiled to himself and started flying back when he saw the enemy Vipers smoothly separate from their dogfights as if they were in atmosphere and fly in perfect formation back to their ships.

"Pat, Reality: How can they do that?" One of the pilots called to Pat as they started to chase down the Sagittarian Vipers.

"All players, _Hyperion_ : We've sent out a distress call and we expect the Battlestar _Rycon_ to reinforce us in about ten minutes time. Just hold them off until then," Hermes told the pilots as they watched the Battlestar _Themis_ brake away from formation and fall back after taking quite a few hits from the _Submerse_ and her sister ships. Sam spotted his squadron and drifted down towards them as they approached the rear of a squadron of Viper MkIIIs.

 _ **Battlestar**_ **Hyperion** _ **CIC:**_

John watched the DRADIS as his Vipers clumped up behind an enemy squadron. "Admiral Granta says that he just needs to finish spooling before his fleet can jump, but Commodore Gillian of BSG-21 says he can make the jump any minute now," Amelia told John as the Admiral broke away from his slightly stressed trance.

"Thank him and tell his to prepare for the worst. And get Colonel Moore on the line. I want to know what the frak he's thinking..." Hermes waved to John a moment later and John picked the phone and began to speak to Jeff. "This is _Hyperion_ Actual," John said.

"Don't worry John, I have this. I've informed my crew to fire everything we have at the enemy while the _Peleus_ provides us with cover fire," Jeff told John. John thought for a moment before replying.

"Does Colonel Talley know that that's a one-way trip?" John asked, an air of caution in his voice.

"Yes Admiral. He volunteered," Jeff reassured John. "I can visit each family if I have to, but most of the crew from the _Peleus_ are from Sagittaron anyway. I think they'd be more than happy to go this way,"

"Okay then. We'll see what we can do about the _Helios_ and the other ships, you can take the _Submerse_ until the Battlestar _Sirius_ arrives," John said, putting the phone down. He checked DRADIS again as the Vipers had continued their push towards their far more organised enemy, more organised than anything John had encountered since the Cylon War in fact. "Lieutenant," John called to Amelia over the hubbub of the CIC. "Set our fore batteries to full attack mode and target the Sobek-class in front of us. And Hermes, tell the _Themis_ and the _Limpet_ to get the frak out of here!" John ordered as he leant back on the table, with both hands out in front, supporting his weight.

 _ **Viper 1219 'Spinner':**_

The orders from Hermes quickly came down from the _Hyperion_ as the _Hercules_ started firing down onto the aft of the Battlestar _Submerse_. "Red Squadron on me. Let's loop around the front of the _Hyperion_ and head for the _Helios_... or whatever that ship is," Sam told his Viper pilots. He and his squadron broke away from the chase and turned towards the bow of the _Hyperion_ as it opened fire on the Sobek-class in front of it. Sam watched as the rounds cut into the Sobek's first line of armour and crashed into the reserve tylium pipes, causing the ship to start cracking from the inside with explosions popping up all along the top of the ship. Sam covered his eyes as the _Eos_ and _Theia_ turned around and led the Bolitho-classes in their attack on the ventral side of the _Helios_. Sam looked around him as a squadron of assault Raptors whipped past his cockpit and fired waves of missiles into the hull of the Battlestar. "Red Squadron, brake on my mark... mark!" Sam called as they encountered the first wave of Vipers from the _Helios_. Sam fired a burst of KEWs at one of the Vipers and winced when the name plate detached and landed on his windscreen, reading: Capt. Samuel 'Spinner' Halway. Sam flipped his Viper around to throw off his old nameplate from when he served on the ship years before.

"Attention all Colonial units, this is the Battlestar _Sirius_. We've arrived to clean up your mess," The calming voice of Commodore Gillian said to the fleet as they jumped in.

 _ **Battlestar**_ **Hercules** _ **CIC:**_

"...to clean up your mess," Jeff heard Commodore Gillian tell the fleet as the _Sirius_ jumped in. Jeff's eyes moved across his DRADIS screen and found the four green dots sitting on the end of the screen.

"Sir, the _Submerse_ is taking damage," Bill told Jeff as the _Hercules_ continued to fire on the _Submerse_.

"Don't finish them Lieutenant. Disable their weapons and move onto the next target," Jeff told Bill.

"And sir, I've lost contact with the _Peleus_. She's gone sir," Jeff stopped for a moment to remember the crew of the _Peleus_ before finishing his orders.

"Target Battlestar 3 Lieutenant. Let's see what we can do before the _Rycon_ arrives. Hell, let's see what we can do before the entire Colonial fleet arrives!" Jeff said joyfully as the _Hercules_ prepared a volley for the next target. "And tell the _Iridium_ and the _Sparta_ to meet with the _Sirius_ and go to full attack mode,"

"Copy sir," Bill said as he dived back into his desk as a call came through from the _Hyperion_. Jeff reached down and picked up the phone.

"This is _Hercules_ Actual," Jeff said, nearly forgetting to refer to himself as Actual.

"Jeff, the _Helios_ is taking heavy damage and we're going to finish it off. I need you to try and get in contact with Zarek before he loses the entire crew of the _Helios_ ," John told Jeff quickly.

"Will do sir," Jeff replied. He placed the phone back into its berth and turned to face his communications officer.

 _ **Battlestar**_ **Hyperion** _ **CIC:**_

John continued to watch the DRADIS as his ships finished off the last two Battlestars and the captured Basestar which had been slowly distancing itself from the battle since the _Hercules_ moved to attack the _Submerse_. "A job well done," Matt said as he walked back from the fire control desks of the CIC.

"Well sort of. You know, if we'd so much as fired a round a second before them we'd be being arrested for war crimes right now," John said quietly. Matt shrugged his shoulders.

"Well, I do love the smell of genocide in the morning," Matt joked. John snorted and shook his head as eight more Colonial contacts jumped into the battle and they were hailed from the _Submerse_. John nodded to Hermes and grabbed the phone on the table in front of him. Before holding it to his face he said to Hermes:

"Direct Admiral Granta to Colonel Moore while I take this," John held the phone up to his face and settled in for a long conversation with Zarek while Raptors from the _Hercules_ and the _Rycon_ began to board the ship.


	4. Colonial Success

_**Battlestar**_ **Submerse** _ **Boarding Party Alpha, Sagittaron Orbit:**_

 _ **17:43PM, 4 Years, 129 Days BTA**_

Colonial gunfire ripped through the hallways of the _Submerse_. Jeff and his marine team rounded a corner and were met with a barrage of rounds from a turret placed down by the Sagittaron rebels. "Frak!" Jeff cried as a bullet cut through a crease in his flight suit. "Sergeant, give me one of those!" He shouted, pointing at a grenade on the marine's belt. The Sergeant chucked him the grenade and Jeff pulled the pin. He poked his head around the corner and threw the grenade at the feet of the base of the turret and dived back behind the wall as it went off. He nodded to the marines and they spun around the corner with their rifles raised high. Jeff looked down at the Sagittarian bodies on the floor as they stepped around them.

"Colonel!" One of the marines shouted as a squad of rebels ran out of a doorway behind them and opened fire. Jeff turned around and fired his rifle at them in full-auto mode. Jeff hit two of the rebels before ducking below the wrecked the turret. Pinned down he looked around him and saw a former Colonial sidearm lying just in reach. Jeff stretched out his hand a picked up the pistol and fired it over his shoulder. The enemy fire stopped for a second and Jeff opened one of his pockets and took out an explosive round and stood up. He lined up a shot and fired at the first rebel who poked his head out, not that the head was attached anymore. The blast from the last shot knocked out the last couple of Sagittarian rebels and Boarding Party Alpha continued on.

"Good shot sir," Sergeant Green, the leader of the marines, said to Jeff. Jeff nodded as they reloaded and headed towards the Core Command of the _Submerse_.

 _ **Battlestar**_ **Hyperion** _ **CIC:**_

"...and then your government will help us to..." Tom Zarek was in the middle of giving John a run-down of the royalties he expected for his bravery and his gods-given right to 'protest' in his words.

"Mr Zarek, I... Mr Zarek!" John interrupted Zarek to attempt to turn the conversation away from stalling and towards a real solution. "Mr Zarek, you need to understand that not only have you lost, but you have committed great crimes in the process. If I were you Mr Zarek, I would surrender to my boarding teams because, and don't forget this, I am the most senior anything within voice range. Now, teams from the _Hercules_ and _Hyperion_ are currently on their way and you might want to start bargaining for the lives of your men on the _Helios_ who are currently fighting my ships, trying to kill MY men,"

"Maybe if you saw my point of view..." Zarek tried to say before being cut off by John.

"No Mr Zarek. Your point of view is..." John stopped for a moment as 8 Colonial signals popped up on DRADIS led by the _Rycon_. "Your point of view is relevant now. There is nothing left for you. Say hello to Colonel Moore when he arrives for me,"

 _ **Battlestar**_ **Submerse** _ **Core Command:**_

"...when he arrives," Tom Zarek heard Admiral Jenkins finish down the phone as his ship rocked from a blast sent by the _Rycon_. Zarek looked over at the DRADIS screen behind him and saw the field of red signals surrounding his ship close in.

"Sir? Your orders?" One of Zarek's men asked. Tom's eyes were still glued to the DRADIS as the Core Command's door slammed shut.

"Sir!" One of the rebels called to Tom. "Colonial forces are nearing the bridge. Do you want us to ready your shuttle?" Tom sadly shook his head as the realisation crossed his face. There was no way out this time.

"Get everyone we can up here. If we're going down, we're going to do it fighting," Tom ordered. The rebels around the Core Command nodded their heads collectively as the security camera footage showed a team of marines led by a Colonial Colonel approach them. The door behind them swung open and ten more rebels entered the room and ran over to the door and prepared for a final stand. Tom took out his pistol as the security feed was cut by the Colonials after they had destroyed the main camera banks inside the ship. "Don't kill the Colonel. I want him alive," Tom said as the Colonials started cutting through the door. Twenty Sagittarians stood behind the door with their weapons raised as they awaited the end.

Jeff wondered what he was doing as he crawled through the vents above the Core Command of the _Submerse_. The Colonel approached a hatch in the bottom of the vent and he pulled himself over it. He faced the marine who had followed him into the vent and prepared to climb down when he heard a clang from behind him. He turned and saw the members of the Boarding Party Constellation prepare to do the same thing as him. He nodded to their leader and they attached their grappling hooks to the vent and threw a smoke grenade into the Core Command before jumping in.

Jeff and the marines parasailed down from the roof of the Core Command and fired a couple of rounds around the room. The Sagittarian rebels spun around in shock as the Colonials descended from the roof. "Oh my gods..." Zarek gasped as Jeff unclipped from his wire and ran around the room. With the attention of the rebels, Jeff signalled to his team, who blew their charge on the door and came in screaming. A few of the rebels dropped their weapons and a couple opened fire madly. Jeff and the Marines from Party Constellation dropped to the floor as waves of bullets from both sides zipped around the room.

"Lieutenant," Jeff called to the leader of the other marines (Lieutenant Karl Stonechat from the _Hyperion_ ). "Take the ones that surrendered. I've got Zarek," The Lieutenant nodded and the six Colonial officers and marines stood up and fired at the last rebels who were still fighting. His rifle raised high, Jeff vaulted over a desk and shot at a Sagittarian who attempted to stop the Colonel. Another two rebels stood up around Zarek and Jeff took a couple of shots at their arms and disabled them. He ran over to the table they were hiding behind and pointed his rifle threateningly at Zarek who was covering his head. "It's over Zarek!" Jeff shouted viscously. Zarek opened his eyes and looked up. Taking a deep breath he stood up and called to his men.

"He's right. It's over," Zarek told his men, who (apart from one) all dropped their weapons and put their hands up. The rebels were swarmed by the marines who grabbed their hands and pulled them out of the Core Command. Jeff raised his rifle to Zarek again.

"Tell the whole crew that," Jeff ordered. Zarek rolled his eyes and walked over to the Communications Officer's desk and called the crew.

"All Sagittarians. This is Tom Zarek. We've lost, surrender now," Zarek said into the phone. Jeff smiled as Lieutenant Stonechat approached Zarek and took him away. The two Colonial nodded at each other as Zarek was led out of the room. Jeff looked around. He was, apart from a few corpses, completely alone. He reached down and took the phone. Jeff hailed the _Hyperion_ and waited for a moment until his call was taken by Hermes Yo.

" _Hyperion_ , Foxhunt: Mission... accomplished!" Jeff told the _Hyperion_ joyfully.

"Copy Foxhunt. Congratulations," Hermes replied. Jeff smiled as he switched the IFF tags of the _Subrmerse_ to Colonial.

 _ **Battlestar**_ **Atlantia** _ **, Picon Orbit:**_

 _ **08:59AM, 4 Years, 128 Days BTA**_

John waited outside Admiral Nagala's quarters aboard his flagship, the refitted command Jupiter-class Battlestar, the Battlestar _Atlantia_. John checked his watch and at exactly 09:00 hours, the door swung open and Admiral Jack Nagala (a tall man with greying hair and a full beard) stepped through. John smiled; Admiral Nagala was one of those Admirals who were absolutely never late. "Good morning Admiral Jenkins," Admiral Nagala said, holding out his hand. John shook it and Nagala stepped out of the way so that John could enter his quarters. "I've heard about your exploits yesterday," Nagala said as he reached down and took a copy of the Caprica City Times off of his desk. "It seems the media are having fun with this one,"

"It seems so doesn't it," John replied. "Anyway thought, why did you want to speak to me?"

"I just wanted to say well done. It's a shame the _Neleus_ had problems with her FTLs again, or I would have responded sooner. But first, I'd like to congratulate you on the War Games. I know that has been overlooked due to Sagittaron, but still, well done and good choice with those nukes John," Admiral Nagala told John as he started to walk back towards his door. John turned and followed him and the two Admiral exited the room.

"Well Jack," John said. "You seem to be the only one outside of my crew. Admiral Walker didn't seem to think that and neither did Admiral Cain; but that was probably just because she lost anyway," Admiral Nagala chuckled as they stepped up the steps outside of the Commander's quarters. "Have you read the full report yet?" John asked after a few moments of silence.

"I read the overview. I'm afraid that I can't get hold of everyone's reports, most of the time it just goes to the Admiralty anyway," Nagala said.

"So you haven't heard about the _Helios_?" John asked.

" _Helios_?" Nagala stopped and looked at John.

"Yeah, the Battlestar _Helios_ ," John said, starting to walk on again.

" _Helios_? Isn't that the prototype Arvak-class we lost a couple of years ago?"

"It is. Speaking of the Arvaks though, did you hear anything about them being resurrected?" John asked as they stepped past a group of crewmen and women.

"It's called 'Project: Dagger' actually. They're going to be replacing the last Sobek's with them and they're going to scrap the Jupiter's in favour of double-sized Odin-classes, starting with replacing the Battlestar _Polaris_ with the Battlestar _Draconis_. In fact, I heard that President Adar wants you and me to have a look at the Project for him,"

"Adar? Well, after 'Project: Zeus' I wouldn't think they'd be too happy with me prototyping..." John started.

"Project: Zeus was a success wasn't it?" Nagala interrupted. John shrugged.

"It was too 'war-time' for the President's liking. Not enough computers in the nuclear plants, y'know?" John told Nagala. Nagala shook his head with smile. The two men continued down the corridors in silence for a minute before John broke it again as they entered the hangar deck. "Did you hear about Admiral Markos?" John asked solemnly.

"Yes I did. But I also heard that Colonel Moore did a good job in his stead," Nagala replied. John nodded.

"He did. In fact, I'm going to recommend to the rest of the Admiralty that we give him a promotion to Commander, or even Rear Admiral given his performance," John said proudly.

"I doubt they'd go for it," Nagala told John. "I know you think of him highly, but he's too young. The Admiralty wouldn't be brave enough to risk having a future Fleet Admiral in their midst," John looked at Nagala in surprise.

"You don't think that they're scared do you?" John asked.

"Maybe," Nagala replied as they walked through a door further down the hangar. "But if they were scared, they would have bumped both of us off a while ago," John chuckled. Nagala led them up some more steps towards the CIC. As they walked John looked around the inside of the _Atlantia_ , he studied all the differences between it and the _Themis_ , on which he had served for most of his career. A minute or two later, a call rang out for the two Admirals.

"Could Admiral Nagala and Admiral Jenkins please contact CIC ASAP," The two Admirals stopped and walked over to a nearby phone. Admiral Nagala reached over and took hold of it.

"Nagala," He said into the phone. "Yes I... of course... yes he's here... sure... I'll tell him... thank you," Nagala finished speaking and pushed the phone back into its holster. "The Admiralty is waiting for us, John," Nagala told John.

"What?" John asked in shock. "I'm not scheduled to be there until 11:00 hours. What's wrong?"

"I don't know, but we'd better get down there. I'm supposed to be de-briefing you too," Nagala told him. John nodded and the two Admirals spun around and rushed back to the hangar to catch the first Raptor possible.

 _ **The Admiralty Headquarters, Picon:**_

 _ **09:25AM, 4 Years, 129 Days BTA**_

John and Admiral Nagala rushed down the hallways of the Admiralty's main offices in the 4 systems. As they approached the meeting room they were supposed to meet in, Admiral Nagala split off from John. "See you on the inside Jenkins," Nagala said as he entered the meeting room ahead of John. John waited behind the grey door for a moment before entering the meeting room. Inside, eight Admirals (Nagala, Walker, Granta, Lorrin, Mains, Mikal, Polis and Berk) were waiting John's entrance.

"Admiral Jenkins," Admiral Jane Lorrin, the head of the meeting, said as John entered. "Please, have a seat," She indicated to a chair sitting in the middle of the semi-circular table they were sitting at. "So, you know why you are here. We'd like to discuss your performance yesterday,"

"Um, which particular performance are you referring to?" John asked as he sat down in the small, blue leather chair with a Colonial seal on its back.

"War Games scenario 57," Admiral Robert Mikal said. John nodded as he looked around at the faces of the other Admirals.

"Some of us are disappointed in your actions during the War Games; as I'm sure you are aware," Admiral Vince Walker said in a slightly irritated tone.

"Your use of nuclear weapons was against regulation Admiral Jenkins. And for that we could penalise you," Admiral Lorrin told him.

"And should penalise you. I did not give authorisation for..." Admiral Walker started. John quickly cut him off.

"Authorisation is not required for use of nuclear ordinance Vince. Nothing said that I didn't have the..." John said angrily. Admiral Kelly Mains quickly stopped the fight between the two of them.

"Gentlemen please," She shouted. "We will come to that later," Admiral Walker rested back into his seat and John turned towards Admirals Lorrin and Mikal, who were seated directly opposite John.

"Thank you Admiral Mains. Now, Admiral Jenkins, do you understand the significance of your use of nuclear weapons against the Battlestar _Minotaur_?" Admiral Lorrin asked John.

"No I do not," John replied defiantly. Lorrin gave Admiral Mikal an 'I told you so' look.

"Admiral Jenkins. Do you understand what more moves like this could mean for you?" Admiral Mikal asked John. "It could, nay will mean that you are demoted to Commander and Commander Carter will take your place as CO of BSG-53. Of course he will only be a Rear Admiral, but you will none the less have to re-do at least 5 years of work before being promoted again. And you'll probably retire before then anyway,"

"I must protest," Admiral Abigail Polis interrupted. "We can't let one of our best simply be washed to the side because of a strategically good move..."  
"I do not class that as a 'good move'," Admiral Walker interrupted.

"Admiral Jenkins just took advantage of a resource he was not specifically told not to use," Nagala said in John's defence. Most of the Admirals broke into an argument until they were stopped by Admiral Lorrin.

"Admirals! Please could we settle down?" Admiral Lorrin called. "Admiral Jenkins, as you can see here, your decision was at the least controversial. I doubt that if President Adar was here, he'd be on your side. That being said this will be something we will investigate with the investigation being led by someone of Colonel rank from the Ministry of Defence. Now, regulations say that for nuclear ordinance to be allowed, you must have registered enemy DRADIS contacts and you must have confirmed visual from pilots in the air that the enemies aren't Colonial. The only other restriction on nuclear weapons is that they are banned from use if you are on the offensive or outnumber the enemy ships or against ships without similar capacity. Your enemy was Colonial, but in the scenario you did not know that and therefore it is classed as an unidentified target,"

"But is mission was only to test the _Minotaur_ and her abilities. Not nuke it!" Admiral Walker insisted.

"But doesn't test mean to test to its full extent?" Admiral Benjamin Berk asked. "As head of testing we do that sort of test all the time,"

"Precisely," Admiral Lorrin said. "Which is why you will be completely free to go today Admiral Jenkins,"

"What?" Admiral Walker asked in disgust.

"I have already explained myself Admiral Walker. You can take it up with the Minister of Defence if you so wish but we need to continue. Admiral Mikal, you have the floor," Admiral Lorrin concluded. John looked away from Lorrin and the squabbling Admirals and towards Admiral Mikal.

"Before you leave John, I'd like to tell you about a few changes I've made regarding Captain Halway and Colonel Moore," Admiral Mikal told John. Intrigued, John sat up even straighter in his chair.

"What about them?" John asked quickly.

"I'm giving Colonel Moore command of the Gunstar _Incognito_ ; it's a Titan III-class. And Captain Halway is to be promoted to Major and he'll be temporally re-assigned to the Battlestar _Hercules_ while we re-jig the structure of the crew," Admiral Mikal said. John nodded as he took in the information.

"A Gunstar?" He asked a moment later. Admiral Mikal nodded. "Why not promote himand give him command of the _Hercules_? He's proven that he's skilled enough..."

"I know that he's like a son to you John, but he's far too young and inexperienced for an Admiral. May I remind you that you weren't promoted to a flag officer until you'd served for 32 years?" John nodded as Admiral Mikal made his case.

"Well, thank you for telling me Robert, I'll tell them when I return to the _Hyperion_ ," John said. "Is there anything else before I leave?"

"No John. Thank you everyone, I think we're done here," Admiral Lorrin told the Admiral. They all stood up and grabbed their things from the table and left the room. Admirals Nagala and Polis said goodbye to John before leaving and John was left in the room by himself. He walked over to the window and watched the traffic fly over Picon City for a minute before he turned around and left the room.


End file.
